Girls track and field: West Aurora steamrolls SCN field

West Aurora freshmen Nia Wood, Annabelle Behrens and Abbey Kuhn staked senior star Tamia Rayford to a considerable lead on the final leg of the 1,600-meter relay Saturday afternoon in St. Charles.

"The freshmen made her job easy," West Aurora girls track and field coach Teresa Towles said.

Rayford, who had already swept the three sprints between 100 and 400 meters at the St. Charles North Invitational, polished off her fourth victory by anchoring the Blackhawks' foursome in four minutes, 11.49 seconds.

The final-event championship concluded a one-sided triumph for the emergent state power of the last decade.

In winning seven of the 18 events, West Aurora scored 179.5 points.

Benet, which had a double-winner in defending Class 2A pole-vault state champion Ali Munson, was a distant second with 99 points.

Wheaton North was third at 93 points, followed by St. Charles East (90.5), Glenbard East (78), Conant (53), Glenbard South (51) and St. Charles North (43).

Rayford began her day by winning the 100 dash in 13.3, the 400 in 58.96 and the 200 in 26.87.

The two shortest dashes were into the teeth of a strong wind.

"After the 400, I can finish the rest of my races," said Rayford, owner of three career all-state performances. "The most pleasing (win) was probably the 200. It was one of those races where I had to push my hardest."

Rajiah Andrews is another point-scoring machine for the Blackhawks.

The senior was the third multiple-event individual champion with victories in the 100 hurdles (16.16) and triple jump (34 feet, 7.25 inches).

Andrews' 34-point individual effort was completed with third-place results in the long jump and 300 hurdles.

"I felt really good about (the short hurdles)," Andrews said. "I felt like I had a really good start. It felt fast, but it wasn't anywhere near my PR (personal record)."

Kendra Battle claimed the final West Aurora championship in the shot put (34-9.5), and Kayla Battle was beyond consistent in the three jumps.

The latter was runner-up in all three for 24 more points for West Aurora.

Towles only expects the Blackhawks to get better.

"I still don't have all my seasoned girls (Dajour Miles, JeMya McClendon and Taty Skokan) back yet," Towles said.

Audrey Ernst began her junior campaign with a flair for the host North Stars.

After missing the entire indoor season and recovering from a concussion, Ernst, all-state at both 3,200 and 1,600 meters last year, seized the lead from the get-go in both races.

The North Stars' standout became the last of the four double-winners with her triumphs in 11:32.22 and 5:26.73, respectively.

"I'm glad to be back," Ernst said. "Obviously, competition is always helpful. There was some good competition out there. I like to go and run and not think about anyone. You never know where anybody is going to be."

"(Ernst) is a dedicated young woman," first-year St. Charles North coach Kate Mehalic said. "This is her life, whether it is cross country, track and field or a triathlon."

Ernst was a rarity among third-year students as the overwhelming majority of juniors were taking the ACT exam.

The North Stars' Natalie Galvan will have to wait a year for the collegiate entrance test.

The St. Charles North sophomore claimed the other host championship with a 2:26.7 clocking in the 800 run.

"I really learned this year to leave your heart on the track," Galvan said. "Don't have any regrets. If I had died at the end, I would have had a lot of regrets. Last year I was just happy to be on varsity."

Casey McNichols' decorated career at St. Charles East enters its final phase.

"My first last outdoor meet," said McNichols, a sprint-relay state champion for the Saints' Class 3A third-place team three years ago. "We only had six varsity sprinters (due to ACT). It was all about using the best combination that we had."

The senior teamed with Stephanie Garcia, Lisa Gordon and Emily Nichols to win the 400 relay in 51.77.

McNichols' specialty event, the 300 hurdles, was the platform for a second title (47.69).

At 12-9, Munson had the finest performance - regardless of class - last year at the state meet in the pole vault.

The Princeton-bound senior had an off-day by her standards in seeking to add a Class 3A title to her resume this spring.

"I only went 11 feet," Munson said of her championship height.

But the Redwings had a skeletal indoor season, and Munson and her teammates are only starting to begin their season in earnest.

"I thought of (today) as a practice," Munson said.

Munson, though, became a two-event champion in the field by augmenting her pole-vault championship with a 17-1.25 effort in the long jump.

Like many elite female athletes in the sport, Munson epitomizes versatility by finishing her day with a runner-up finish to Rayford in the 200 dash.

"I just came out and gave it my all," Munson said. "It was a really good day. I just give it my all in the long jump and pole vault. The 200 is my favorite race ever. I love running that curve in the 200. (Sprinting and jumping are) good cross training (for the pole vault)."

In the opening race of the day, the Redwings' quartet of Jessica Jugovich, Nicole Kewalczyk, Rachel Strons and Amanda DeSitter were declared the victors in the 3,200 relay.

The apparent champion, St. Charles East, was disqualified when its anchor runner ran out of bounds.

"It was kind of surprising," DeSitter said.

DeSitter was runner-up to Ernst in the 1,600.

"I felt like I competed better in the mile (than the relay), and it felt better overall," DeSitter said.

Glenbard East was one of many schools impacted by the almost complete absence of its junior class.

"We knew as a team we weren't going to do anything fancy," Glenbard East coach Molly Gstalter said. "We were going for individual goals."

But the Rams did have a pair of titles as Brianna Raysby surprised teammate and returning state qualifier Abby Hoh, who was third, in the high jump.

Raysby cleared 5-2 for the outright championship.

Claire Biegalski anchored the Rams' other championship, the 800 relay, in 1:51.45; Kionnah Weaver, runner-up in the 300 hurdles, Brenna Peters and Madison Crowe were the other Rams' sprinters on the quartet.

Returning Class 2A state qualifier in the discus Grayson Breen was the sole champion for Glenbard South with a distance of 111-10.

"I have won a pretty good amount (of invites) before," said Breen. "(My winning throw) was good, but it wasn't what I had hoped for."

Wheaton North, with 20 athletes not in attendance, was led by runner-up performances from Allyson Serbick in the 400 and Gwyneth Johnson in the discus.

The Falcons' 1,600 relay had the same finish.

"We have a big team," Wheaton North coach Brian Zeglin said. "I think the ACT provided some kids an opportunity they may not have had with a full roster. What I did like was their aggressiveness. That's what we have been preaching."